For the Toronto Maple Leafs, there is money to spend and trades to be made in the months before the league hits October.
For the franchise, it appears the Leafs are trying to be patient when it comes to finding the right deals for one of their top veterans, Max Domi.
Domi still has three years left on his no-movement clause. He had 33 points in 74 games throughout his rough 2024-25 season with Toronto, which was one of the lowest point totals of his career.
Should they wish to give Domi another go, here’s who else the Maple Leafs could be doing away with while there’s still time to spare, with 10 free agents available, seven of which are unrestricted free agents and three are restricted free agents.
1. Nicholas Robertson
Nick Robertson, a 23-year-old who was given a qualifying offer of $918,750, could remain a Maple Leaf. However, the left winger is currently listed as a restricted free agent with a previous AAV of $875,000.
#LeafsForever RFA Nicholas Robertson files for arbitration. A strong scoring piece playing lower in the lineup, manages the puck well, and forces a good deal of turnovers through his effortful play. Has struggled to get into the high-danger areas of the ice. pic.twitter.com/G3IPLMFEXC
— Chase Allen (@ChaseAllen03) July 5, 2025
Robertson, scratched once again with Toronto’s season on the line (finishing with only 22 points on the regular season), it appears finally has some negotiating leverage. The winger filed for arbitration and will get a decent raise as a 15-goal scorer used so sparingly.
2. Mikko Kokkonen
Left-handed defenseman Mikko Kokkonen was, unfortunately for him, not tendered a qualifying offer by Toronto and thus became an unrestricted free agent. He played 50 games with the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Marlies, posting 14 points across three goals and 11 assists.
Kokkonen is 24 years old, has spent most of his three-year pro career with the Leafs’ AHL affiliate, and appears to be stuck. Should he move on to a different franchise, the Finnish native will provide depth to a different AHL affiliate.
3. Jani Hakanpaa
Another defenseman, this time right-handed, Jani Hakanpaa, is listed as an unrestricted free agent with a former AAV of $1.47 million.
Hakanpaa struggled this year due to a lower-body injury; Finland even ruled him out for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Prior to this, he appeared in only two games this season for Toronto and none since mid-November because of the previously mentioned injury. He had a knee procedure in December, but still finished the year with only two games played and zero points.
And while one can’t necessarily blame Hakanpaa for his injury, surely there’s a reason why he still hasn’t been locked down by the Maple Leafs.
2 of these guys are UFAs, exactly how are the Leafs supposed to trade them?
Things don’t necessarily have to be a trade. This article is about shipping guys off, not limited to aiming for trades — which is why I list the two you’re referring to as unrestricted free agents.
To answer your question, the UFA s could sign or be pushed to another franchise which clears up room on the roster and should still count as a significant roster change, UFA or not.
I think you’re missing something. The amount Treliving kept open was 5 million. Pittsburgh has 2 talented right wingers in Rakell and Rust who each carry a 5 mil AAV. Unless Treliving is trying to Jason Robertson out of Dallas, Nick RobertRobertson will go to Pittsburgh in a trade as the Pens try to get younger. Pittsburgh could use a good young goalie and the Marlies have 2. I feel this is what Treliving is working on.